political appointees

Yesterday I blogged The Washington Post’s story on political appointees slyly sliding into career positions. One expert on the subject I spoke with said the practice has the potential to make it difficult for the incoming administration to carry out its policy vision.

Earlier I noted it’s worth keeping an eye on last-ditch “burrowing” efforts by the executive branch, where political appointees slide into career positions, presumably to carry through the White House policy of a previous administration even after a new president has moved in.
Interestingly, the current move by the executive branch is in contrast to [...]

This morning’s Washington Post explains that the Bush administration is using the last-minute practice of “burrowing,” or slipping political appointees into career positions in federal agencies, throughout the executive branch.
The Post reports that, so far, 20 political appointees have been changed over to career posts — which carry rules that make it more difficult for [...]

Art’s post today highlights the concern in the scientific community that President-elect Barack Obama could appoint an EPA head who would politicize science as much as Stephen Johnson has. Science bloggers, Art says, are raising red flags about environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is on Obama’s short list for the position.
Just wanted to [...]

With fewer than three months to go in George W. Bush’s presidency, it’s time for top administration officials to line up high-powered jobs at Fortune 500 companies or Washington think tanks. But as the Wall Street Journal reported this weekend, that’s not happening.
Partly due to the bad economy and partly due to the president’s historic [...]